After You've Gone
by NayClem
Summary: What really happened when Jack was gone? Did the team get closer or fall apart? Jack/Ianto, Owen/Ianto friendship.
1. Chapter 1

_Okay, this is my first fanfiction in a while and hopefully I will finish this one!! _

_THIS IS NOT A OWEN/IANTO fic, just to make that clear._

_Please reveiw, it will motivate me to write the rest!!_

_I do realize that some of the charectors in this story may seem a bit OOC but remember, they all changed after JAck left and that is what I am looking at in this story._

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He knew he was being selfish, but what else was he supposed to think? He knew that the others missed Jack as well but they weren't the ones Jack had kissed, minutes before abandoning them all… leaving them, with no idea of where their leader, their captain, had gone. 

Ianto finished and signed the report he was working on to do with a mission the team had been on that day. It was just a routine Weevil hunt, but that didn't mean that the paperwork could be ignored did it? And who else was going to do it? Gwen had Rhys to get home to and Toshiko… well her heart was in the right place but she had been working nearly as hard as him and she deserved a break. And as for Owen… well… lazy bastard just about summed him up.

It was gone midnight and Ianto was the only human left in the Hub and, seeing as how he had been in before five this morning, it had been a long day. He couldn't help the nightmares that plagued him at night could he? He couldn't help that they were so bad he avoided sleeping as much as possible could he? Ianto sighed and lent against the filling cabinet, feeling drained and exhausted but he couldn't leave now, he'd only be back in, in a few hours when he was woken by Lisa's screams or Jack's face just out of reach… or someone else in the team leaving… abandoning them all…

It had been three months since Jack had saved the world from Abaddon and then disappeared, leaving only papers strewn around the Hub in his wake, and still he plagued Ianto's dreams… never in reach but always there in the background… Even during the long, wakeful hours in the Hub, Ianto would occasionally hear Jack's laugh or feel like somebody was watching him from the office that nobody dared enter…

He doubted the rest of the team noticed the black circles under his eyes, his cheekbones slowly becoming more and more prominent as he forgot to eat and the paleness of his already too-pale skin. He was just part of the furniture… tidying up after everybody else… doing the paperwork nobody wanted to do… keeping the coffee cups filled and the pizza hot. Nobody would miss him if he left… if he ran away… retconned himself… at least until they wanted another coffee or couldn't find the file they wanted. He knew the others were suffering with the loss of their captain, Gwen struggling to accept the role of 'leader' with Owen downright refusing to take on the position, but at least they had other things to concentrate on: Gwen on Rhys; Owen on whatever girl he wanted to pull that night and Tosh… well Tosh always had her computers. And him, well he had had Lisa… the one good thing left in his life… and she had been killed by… guess who? O yes, the mighty captain himself. And just when Ianto thought that he was getting over Lisa, finally leaving her in the past, with the help of Jack of course, and what had Jack gone and done? Abandon him, leaving him, and the nightmares had come back, even more terrible then they had been after Lisa had died, so much so that Ianto was actually afraid of sleeping, of seeing the faces of those who had left him.

Ianto jumped upright as the cog door rolled open and span around, almost sure that it was Jack, returning to them, to him, but was disappointed as Owen walked through the door, mid-yawn. Ianto shut the draw he had placed the file in with a slam and Owen visibly jumped and spun around to face Ianto, gun already drawn.

'Ianto? What the fuck are you doing here?'

'Hello Owen. Can you please put down the gun?'

'Oh, yeah, sorry.' He said, lowering the gun. 'What are you doing here?'

'Well… seeing as I'm at work… I'd say I'm working…'

'Ha-bloody-ha, I mean what are you doing at work at…' he looked at his watch 'ten past one in the morning?'

'I could say the same to you seeing as you're here as well.'

'Yeah, well… I'll ask you no questions, you'll ask me no question, agreed?'

'Yeah, sure.'

Owen walked over to his station and turned on his computers. Ianto walked over to the coffee machine and pored some into Owen's favourite mug and carried it over to Owen's desk.

'Cheers Ianto. What you up to?'

'Just catching up on filing and paperwork, you know… the things you avoid most…'

'Yeah, only because I've got you to tidy up after me.'

Ianto, used to Owen's sarcastic, and sometimes hurtful, comments grinned forcefully and walked away back to his desk and the unfinished paperwork. He knew that was all the team saw him as, a 'tea-boy,' but it still hurt to have it said out loud.

They worked in silence for a while until Owen stood up, stretched and walked over to the coffee machine for another cup.

He glanced at Ianto who was frowning, trying to decipher Gwen's scribbled notes on a mission to recover an alien artefact that had come through the rift earlier in the week.

'Ianto, mate, are you okay?'

Ianto jumped and glanced over at Owen. 'Yes, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?'

'I dunno… it's just ever since Jack left you've been really quiet and you don't look that healthy to be honest.'

Ianto flinched at the sound of his ex-lovers' name and then looked surprised at the fact that Owen had even noticed that he was around, never mind that he wasn't looking his best.

'I'm fine Owen,' and at Owen's sceptical look, 'really, I'm fine.'

'Ianto, it doesn't take a doctor to diagnose 'panda eyes' and pale skin as lack of sleep and food. Mate, go home, eat something, and go to sleep.' Owen said, leaning one hip against the desk next to where Ianto was working.

'Owen, I'm fine okay? Now leave me alone. What happened to 'no questions' huh?'

Owen sank down on the floor next to Ianto's chair and sighed. 'We all miss him, you know?'

'Yes I know,' Ianto said wearily, 'and I know I'm selfish for missing him 'cos I'm 'just a tea boy' and _his_ 'part time shag,' so you can skip the lecture, okay Owen?'

Owen looked slightly shocked at Ianto's words and sat there for a few seconds before saying quietly, 'You don't actually believe that do you?'

Ianto didn't say anything, concentrating perhaps more then necessary on his report.

'Ianto? I only say that stuff, I don't actually mean it you know.' Ianto glanced up from his paperwork and looked disbelievingly at Owen.

The pair sat in silence for a few moments but it wasn't the strained silence that usually fell between the pair but a more understanding, comradely silence. Both united by the abandonment of their leader. Ianto broke the silence.

'I just feel we were never good enough for him, you know?' he sighed, 'but I guess nothing's ever going to be good enough for a person who's lived for over a hundred years is it?' Ianto almost seemed to be looking for assurance that he wasn't to blame for Jack's disappearance.

'Yeah I always thought that he'd leave eventually, but recently… I dunno… just the way you two were, the way he looked at you sometimes… I thought that he would finally… 'settle down' so to speak.'

Ianto stood up, closed the file he had been working on and walked over to the filing cabinet, saying as he went, 'Like you said, 'part time shag' that's me, nothing more… at least on Jack's side.'

Owen stood up as well and silently walked over until he was standing behind Ianto, frowning at his back. Ianto turned around and started at seeing Owen in front of him. 'Do you have to do that?'

'Sorry, couldn't resist.' He peered at Ianto's face. 'You know Ianto, no offence or anything, but you really should get some sleep. Why don't you go home, get some sleep and I'll finish up here?'

'Thanks Owen, but even if I did go home I wouldn't be able to sleep.'

Ianto made to walk back to his desk but was stopped by Owen putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked momentarily surprised by how skinny Ianto was but quickly recovered. 'What do you mean you wouldn't be able to sleep? Ianto, you look dead on your feet and if you keep up like this you're going to end up collapsing from exhaustion. Trust me, I'm a doctor.'

'I can't,' Ianto whispered, his voice breaking, 'I can't.'

'Can't what?' asked Owen just as softly, 'Can't sleep or can't trust me?'

Ianto looked slightly insulted, 'Of course I trust you; you have to in this job. I can't sleep.'

'Why Ianto? You know you can tell me, even if I am a prick sometimes.'

Ianto mumbled something under his breath.

'What? Ianto mate, you might have to speak a bit louder, I don't have supersonic hearing.'

'I get nightmares.' Ianto admitted, somewhat reluctantly.

Owen didn't look surprised by this admission, if anything, he looked pleased that Ianto had finally admitted it out loud. 'Do you want to talk about them or do you want me to give you something to help you sleep?'

'Sleep first please.'

Owen grinned at this and walked over to his station, pulling a box of pills out from under one of the piles of paper. 'Right, these are… well you don't really need to know what they, just that they'll knock you out for at least eight hours, a deep sleep so you won't even dream okay? You could go home and take one but I'd prefer if you took it here, just so I could keep an eye on you, as they are quite strong. That is, if that's okay with you?' Owen looked at Ianto questioningly. Ianto smiled tightly and nodded.

Ianto thought about it for a moment, 'Where will I sleep though?' Ianto was thinking of the small sleep space under Jack's office, which no member of the team had entered for three months apart from Ianto who only went in their to clean.

Owen seemed to read Ianto's mind and, thankfully, offered an alternative, 'Well, I have found, after much experience, that if you're tired enough, that the sofa behind Tosh's station, with enough blankets and pillows, is surprisingly comfortable.' Owen pointed out the sofa in question, under the huge 'Torchwood' logo, and then the cupboard in the corner of the Hub, which, for some unknown reason, Torchwood kept a supply of blankets and pillows.

Ianto smile was a bit more relaxed this time as he made his way towards the cupboard and started pulling blankets and pillows out of it, carrying them over to the sofa and dumping them in a pile.

'Ianto?'

'Yeah?'

'Do you have anything to change into? I don't think that a suit is the most comfortable thing to sleep in.'

'Yeah, I have some stuff in my locker.'

'Go and get changed, I'll finish this off,' Owen said in a kinder, more understanding voice then Ianto had ever heard him use before. He nodded and walked off, leaving Owen to sort through the mess of blankets left on the sofa.

Ianto returned five minutes later in tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt, looking quite different to the usual 'crisp and clean' Ianto. Owen had finished the makeshift bed and was walking across the Hub holding the box of pills and a glass of water. He raised his eyebrows upon seeing Ianto but didn't say anything, just handed Ianto the water and two of the pills.

'Cheers,' he said, knocking back the pills and water and sitting back down on the sofa. Owen walked back over to his station, leaving Ianto to get comfortable in his 'bed.'

'Owen?' Ianto asked, already sounding sleepy.

'Yup?'

'Why are you here so early?'

Owen laughed quietly, 'Why don't we concentrate on you tonight huh, Ianto? We'll talk when you wake up.'

Ianto mumbled something and then said, sounding even sleepier, 'Owen?'

'Yeah?'

'Thanks.'

Owen looked up, a surprised look on his face. 'No problem mate,' he said softly. But Ianto was already asleep.

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_Okay, so there we go, I hope you liked it!!_

_Please reveiw and visit my profile and vote on the poll to try and stop the continuous argument between me and my friend which is starting to drive out other friends slightly insane..._


	2. Chapter 2

_OK, here's the next chapter. This one is for all of you lovely people who've reveiwed and added this story on their favourites and alerts etc. Keep reveiwing, it helps me write faster!!_

_A lot of this stroy was written at about 3am afterI had watched episode 11 (it is SSSSSOOOO good) and couldn't sleep from excitment (go Jack/Ianto!! so I apologise for any mistakes!! I know this sounds really geeky butI wasn't the only one!! shadowxwolf was doing the same so check out her Jack/Gwen stories if you are so inclined. _

_So, without further ado, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!!_

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Tosh walked into the Tourist Office early, convinced that she would be the first one at work, apart from Ianto, who never seemed to leave the Hub these days. Tosh worried about him but knew that trying to talk to him would just drive the Welshman away and he would talk when he was ready.

Tosh walked through the cog door and stopped dead upon seeing Owen at his station, typing away on his computer. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped when Owen looked up and held a finger to his lips. She looked at him questioningly and, in answer, he pointed to the sofa behind her station. There was Ianto, fast asleep under a couple of blankets, the most peaceful look Tosh had ever seen on his face. She walked over to Owen so they could talk without disturbing him.

'He finally crashed then?' She whispered once she had reached Owen's station.

'Nope, I had to force drugs down his throat before he slept. He's a stubborn bastard when he wants to be y'know?' Owen glanced over at Ianto and grinned wryly. 'Though it's not his fault he hasn't been sleeping, he's been having nightmares apparently.'

'What of?'

'Dunno, thought it best that he slept before he spilled his heart out.' Owen paused, 'I think he's taken it harder then we thought,' Toshiko didn't need to ask what 'it' was, 'I'm gonna talk to him when he wakes up, see if there's anything we can do to help the nightmares, drugs aren't a permanent option, they're really addictive.'

Tosh nodded thoughtfully, trying to think of some way they could help their colleague. 'What about counselling? That'd help the nightmares wouldn't it?'

'Yeah, but I reckon a lot of them would be alien based, so we can't exactly call the first guy in the yellow pages can we? If he needs counselling, it'd have to be me, and I know I'm not the most approachable bloke am I?' 

Tosh grinned in agreement. 'Well, I'll leave you to talk to him when he wakes up and then we can plan something to help him, yeah? We all need to stick together, help each other out so keep the sarcastic comments to a minimum OK?'

'Yes ma'am!' Toshiko sent Owen a glare and started walking back to her station but was called back by Owen's whispered 'Tosh!'

'What?'

'Will you fill Gwen in when she gets here? One emotional conversation a day is enough for me and I've already had two.' Tosh nodded in acceptance.

'Oh and Tosh? Tell her to keep the mother-henning to a minimum will you?' Tosh rolled her eyes, grinned and finally made it back to her station, where she turned on the monitors and dumped her bag and coat before making her way over to the coffee machine. 

It was another half an hour before the cog door rolled open again and Gwen Copper walked through it. She was immediately cornered by Toshiko and dragged to the conference room for a whispered discussion. They emerged twenty minutes later and both made a bee-line for the coffee machine, Gwen casting a worried glance towards the sofa where Ianto was still fast asleep and then an approving glance towards the Autopsy Bay where Owen was working. As he heard the girls finally emerge, he walked up into the main area of the Hub, removing his latex gloves as he went and dropping them in the closest bin. He to made his way over to he coffee machine and grinned at Gwen.

'Late night Cooper?'

'Oh yes Harper, you see, unlike you, I have a sex life.' Tosh rolled her eyes at the two's banter and sipped from her mug.

'So,' said Owen, suddenly very professional, 'the pills I've given Ianto will be wearing of in a bit but, given that he is exhausted, he should stay asleep. However, the nightmares may start, so we need to keep and eye on him and wake him up if we need to. Tosh can you keep an eye on him?'

Tosh nodded, 'Of course.'

Owen smiled briefly at her, 'Okay, when he wakes up, I want to talk with him, so I'm going to take him out for something to eat, 'cos that's another thing he's hardly had any of in the last three months, and you only contact us if you really need to okay?'

The two girls nodded and, recognizing that the conversation was over, made their ways back to their stations, clutching mugs of coffee, prepared to face the day and Owen made his way back to the Autopsy Room, hands empty of coffee, but then again, he'd already consumed seven cups since he'd entered the Hub eight and a half hours ago and he was feeling decidedly twitchy as a result.

It was another half an hour before anything disturbed the clacking of keyboards and the slightly disturbing squelching coming from the Autopsy Room. A low moan filled the Hub followed by Tosh's shout of 'Owen!!

Owen ran from the Autopsy Room, this time ripping the blood-covered gloves from his hands. He ran to the sofa and knelt down beside Ianto who was thrashing around, becoming increasingly tangled in the blankets he had been, until recently, sleeping peacefully under. Owen put a hand on the younger man's shoulder, shaking it gently, trying to bring him back from the dreams that had such a tight hold on him. 

It took many shakes and several cries of 'Ianto!' before the man surfaced from his nightmare. He sat up suddenly, almost crashing heads with Owen, gasping for breath and covered in sheen of sweat. Owen glanced behind him to see both girls staring at Ianto with worried expressions on their faces, he glared at them until they got the hint and walked back to their desk's and continued working. Only then did Owen turn back around a focused on Ianto.

'You alright mate?'

'What do you think?' Ianto asked, gesturing to his sweat soaked clothes and tangled blankets.

Owen smiled grimly and offered Ianto a glass of water, which he took and gulped down gratefully. Owen watched as Ianto finished the drink and sunk back into the sofa, eyes closed, sighing deeply, trying to regulate his frantic breathing. He noticed that the Welshman still had black circles under his eyes despite over eight hours of solid sleep and the loose t-shirt he was wearing emphasised how thin he had got over the past three months, thinness that was usually hidden by his suits. Owen felt a stab of guilt that none of their so-called 'team' had noticed how one of their own had suffered so badly, at the hands of another of their team as well. He plucked the empty glass from Ianto's hand, Ianto's eyes shot open and he blinked trying to focus his tired eyes on Owen, crouching next to him. He sat up and pushed the blankets off his legs swung his legs around and stood up stretching and blinking sleepily. Owen stood up as well, groaning as his leg muscles stretched out again.

'Go take a shower and then we'll go and get something to eat okay?' 

Ianto looked thoughtful for a moment, 'I haven't got anything to change into,' he gestured at his sweat soaked clothes again, 'couldn't I just go home, get changed and come back in?'

Owen was not going to let this chance just walk out the door so he shook his head and pointed towards the door leading to the showers and changing rooms. 'I've got some things in my locker that'll fit you. Go. Now.' Owen didn't mention that the only reason that his clothes would fit the larger man was because he had lost so much weight. 

Owen followed Ianto into the changing room, grabbed some clothes out of his locker and placed them in a pile outside the shower room, where he could already the water running, next to the towel which Ianto must have already placed there.

That job done, Owen walked back into the main area of the Hub where the two girls were standing next to Tosh's station, talking quietly.

'Hey, girls, Ianto's just getting ready, then we're off.'

The girls glanced at each other and then back at Owen. It was Gwen who decided to voice what they were both obviously thinking.

'Owen? Why are you so bothered? It's not like you care about anyone but yourself.'

Owen looked slightly insulted for a second before nodding as if to say 'it's true.' He walked over to Tosh's station and lent against here desk next to Gwen. 'We let Jack down by opening the rift, we're supposed to be a team and we've let Ianto down by not helping him. He was closer to Jack them any of us so it is understandable that Jack leaving has hit him the most.'

Gwen and Tosh looked slightly surprised at Owen's logic as well as the fact that he had actually said Jack's name. None of them had mentioned him, at least not by name, since he had abandoned them three months ago. The three fell into silence, all of them contemplating how they had let their colleagues down by concentrating on themselves. The silence was thankfully broken by Ianto, walking back into the Hub wearing a pair of Owen's jeans and one of his t-shirts. The shirt was stretching across his broad shoulders but it was still obvious how much weight he had lost.

Owen pushed himself off Tosh's desk, 'You ready mate?' He walked over to his own desk and grabbed his leather jacket off the back of his chair.

'Yeah, I just need to get my coat from upstairs. Do you girls need anything before we go?'

Tosh rolled her eyes, 'No Ianto, you go and have some food. You look like you could do with it.'

Owen came up behind Ianto and started pushing him towards the cog door. 'Bye-Bye girls, I've got my mobile if you need me. Try not to end the world before we get back okay?'

Both girls grinned as they watched Owen and Ianto leave the Hub. Maybe now, they could all start getting their lives on track again. 

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_So there we go. The next chapter will be Ianto and Owen's conversation and I have no idea what is going to happean in that one so it may be a while!!_

_Please review!!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Okay, this happened quicker then I thought it would!! I know it's short but it just seemed the right place to stop. I have no idea what's going to happen in this story, I'm jut letting it take me!! I hope you enjoy this chapter and any suggestions towards the story are welcome, either leave a review or PM me._

Ianto and Owen walked into a small café just around the corner from the Hub; Ianto with is hands in his coat pockets, avoiding

Ianto and Owen walked into a small café just around the corner from the Hub; Ianto with is hands in his coat pockets, avoiding eye contact with anybody, following a more confident Owen who walked into the small café as if he owned the place.

Ianto followed Owen up to the counter and listened to him as he ordered what sounded like enough food for the whole team not just the two of them. Owen led the way to a booth in the corner and sat down so he was facing the door, Ianto followed and sat opposite, pulling off his coat as he sat down and placed it neatly in the bench seat next to him.

'So…' Ianto started uncomfortably.

Owen took over, 'so tell me about these nightmares Ianto,' he looked expectantly at the younger man.

Ianto looked uncomfortable, 'well, they're mainly just blackness… me, alone… but sometimes I can see things in the blackness,' he looked down at his hands, which were fiddling with the salt and pepper shakers on their table, clearly embarrassed.

'What things?' Owen probed in a gentle voice, trying to put the Welshman at ease.

'Just people… Lisa, my dad, old friends and… Jack,' Ianto blushed upon saying this last name and again looked down at his hands as if they were the most interesting things he had ever seen.

Owen looked thoughtfully at Ianto but before he could say anything, their food and drinks arrived: large coffees and full breakfasts for the both of them. He saw Ianto's eyes widen slightly upon seeing the amount of greasy food on the plate the waitress put on the table in front of him and grinned. This was the only way to start the day; pile of greasy food and a gallon of coffee.

'Eat up,' he urged Ianto, 'it's not often I'll willingly buy you a meal, make the most of it.'

Ianto looked doubtfully at his plate, as if he would unwilling call the things on his plate food, and gingerly picked up his knife and fork.

'So,' said Owen, his mouth already full, 'your parents. Do you see much of them?'

'I go and see my mum as much as I can, but my tad left when I was young. Don't know where he is, haven't seen him in years.'

'Why'd he leave?'

'Got sick of us I guess, he was always complaining, especially about me. I wasn't the brightest of kids and he always thought that I was a disappointment,' the look of hatred on Ianto's face was something Owen had only ever seen once before, when he was looking at Jack as Jack was threatening to kill Lisa.

'So you didn't get on well with dad then?'

'No. He was drunk a lot of the time and when he was drunk he got violent,' Ianto shuddered and rubbed his elbow subconsciously.

'Did he hit you?' Owen was determined to get to the bottom of Ianto's nightmares and if that meant he had to be a bit blunt then so be it.

Ianto finally made eye contact with Owen and the years of pain and hurt were obvious in his eyes. 'Yes, he'd come home, drunk and angry about loosing money to some bet or other and he'd beat up my ma before coming into my room and beating the shit out of me. Sometimes I wouldn't be able to crawl into school the next day and once or twice I made it there only to collapse and be taken into hospital. Those times were always the worst because he'd get mad for almost "giving away our secret,"' Ianto laughed scornfully, '"our secret," that's what he always called it.' Ianto paused, looking almost surprised that he had divulged this much about his past to Own of all people.

'What about after he left? What happened to you and your mum?' Owen prompted tentatively.

'It got worse, well I wasn't getting beaten regularly at least, but we had no money, ma had no job, we were basically living off benefits and they weren't enough to feed both of us. I was working about three jobs as well as going to school but it still wasn't enough. Ma had started drinking by then as well but at least she hid it unlike him. She'd be at home when I got in, stinking of sherry and I'd… well I looked after her I guess… shopping, working, washing… everything. Then I got done for shoplifting, ma got put in hospital, cirrhosis of the liver, but by this time I was 18 so I decided to make a fresh start in London. Moved there and had loads of temp jobs before I got picked up by Torchwood, met Lisa and well… you know the rest,' Ianto paused looking confused, 'how is this relevant to the nightmares though?'

'Ianto, mate, everything is relevant, trust me…'

Ianto interrupted Owen 'please don't say, "I'm a doctor."'

Owen grinned and gestured to Ianto's plate, which he had hardly touched, 'Eat up and we'll head back to the Hub, I think you and I have both had enough emotionally conversations fro today don't you?'

Ianto nodded and started eating his food. They sat in silence for a while, Ianto eating and Owen sipping his coffee. However, Owen's mind was turning Ianto's conversation over and over in his mind, trying to find some way of helping the man.

Ianto ate only half of his meal before putting his knife and fork down, sighing and picked up his coffee. Owen looked as though he was about to urge him to eat more before realising that that was probably the most Ianto had eaten all week.

He put his own empty coffee cup down and decided to voice his plan of action, 'So, here's the plan, I can't keep giving you those sleeping tablets because they're quite addictive. We could try something weaker but I don't think that it's necessary. I think that with regular talks like this, we could get to the bottom of these nightmares and stop them.' Owen finished his plan with a flourish, like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat, and he sat back in his chair.

Ianto looked at him, unimpressed. 'So I just have to… talk and the nightmares will go away?'

Owen nodded, 'Well, theoretically, anyway.'

Ianto looked at his hands again, wrapped around his coffee mug, 'do I have to talk to you?' he asked, looking uncomfortable.

'Yup. Sorry mate but some of the stuff you want to talk about could be a bit… extra terrestrial, so we can't get someone in and the girls… well… you could talk to them if you want to but I always thought Gwen'd be a bit… overbearing. And Tosh's a bit… she tries to hard to understand you, y'know? Me, however, I'd just listen and I think that's what you need isn't it?'

Ianto nodded in acceptance and put down his now empty coffee mug. He looked resigned to the fact the Owen and the others were going to help him, whether he liked it or not.

Owen got up and grabbed his coat, putting it on as he made his way towards the door, Ianto following closely behind, repeating his actions. During the short walk back to the Hub, Owen couldn't help but notice that, despite the hours of sleep, Ianto was still hiding yawns behind his hand and his shoulders still held some invisible weight. He sighed, realising that Ianto was a lot more complex then he let everyone see and that he might take more healing then any of them had previously thought.

'You're going home,' he said it as a fact, not a question.

Ianto looked up at him sharply, 'What?'

'You're still exhausted. Come back to the Hub, get your stuff; I'll give you some weaker sleeping tablets. Go home and get some rest, you're no help to any of us when you're exhausted.'

Ianto looked briefly like he was going to argue, but them seemed to recognize that it was already a lost case.

They did exactly as Owen said, returned to the Hub, greeted the girls, and Ianto collected his things along with a small packet from Owen, before walking out of the cog door, waving good-by to the girls.

Yes, though Owen, watching the broken man walking out the door, this was going to be a lot harder then he had thought.

_This chapter goes to shadowxwolf, who persuaded me to start writing again!!_

_I can't beleive the season 2 finale is coming up!! What am I going to do with my time?!_

_Please review with comments, suggestions, or just a general 'hi!' Also, please vote on the poll on my profile to end the ongoing argument between me and my friend!!_


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long and it is so short, but it just decided that it didn't want to be written and I was in morning after the last episode. Poor Toshiko and Owen!! But at least they're together, but I still maintain hope that Owen is still alive!! I don't think I've ever cried so much for a TV show!! Captain John has grown on me as well and I hope he becomes a regular character in series 3._

_This more a filler chapter then anything, but I hope you like it!!_

Owen walked into the Hub the next morning, looking expectantly around for any other signs of life in the Torchwood Cardiff base. Sure enough, Ianto was sitting at his desk, looking immaculate in a fresh suit, typing away, the empty coffee cups suggesting that he'd already been there a while.

Owen walked over to his own station, dumped his bag, leather jacket and take-out coffee cup on his desk before walking over to Ianto, still holding a brown paper bag.

'Alright mate?'

Ianto looked up and Owen could immediately see the difference one days rest had done to the Welshman; the dark circles under his eyes were less distinctive and he had a little more colour in his cheeks although not as much as the doctor would have liked.

Ianto smiled up at Owen, 'Yup, just catching up the admin and stuff… someone's got to do it!'

Owen grinned at Ianto's animation, 'You feeling better then? How'd you sleep?'

Ianto glanced briefly down at his hands before turning back to the computer screen, 'Better. I took those tablets when I got home and slept for quite a while before the nightmares started again, couldn't get back to sleep so I came in about four.'

Owen sucked in his breath, Ianto had already been at work for _four_ hours, how the younger man was still running, Owen would never know. 'Have you eaten?'

The fact that Ianto didn't answer, his gaze remaining on the screen in front of him, answered his question. Owen sighed and dumped the paper bag onto the desk in front of Ianto.

'Muffin and croissant. Eat.' Ianto looked up at Owen, his eyebrows raised, Owen stared steadily back at him before Ianto smiled in thanks and turned back to his desk, opening the bag and lifted out the croissant, ripping part of it off and stuffing it in his mouth before turning back to the computer, tapping at the keyboard with one hand.

Owen, after making sure that Ianto was actually eating, made his way back to his own station and switched on his computers, kicking his bag under the desk and sitting down heavily onto his desk chair, spinning slowly around as he waited for his computers to boot up.

'Owen?' Ianto's quiet voice carried easily across the empty Hub.

Owen stopping spinning around, halting so that her could see Ianto, still typing away at the computer. 'Yeah?'

'The other night… why were you here? You never come in when you don't have to and sometimes even when you do.' Ianto was still staring fixedly at his computer.

Owen grinned slightly in admittance and debated upon telling the Welshman the truth or making some garbage up; but Ianto had been honest with him, so it was only fair that he returned the favour.

'I, erm… I… Well Tosh has helped fix up this thing that'll tell me if there's rift activity and no one's at the Hub, seeing as Jack's not living here, someone needs to keep an eye on it at night. Anyway, something set it off the other night… you wouldn't have noticed it 'cause Tosh switches her screens off, but it only turned out to be small and nothing seemed to have come through; I checked after you'd gone to sleep.'

Ianto had finally looked up during Owen's garbled explanation, looking disbelieving at first, but then Owen made eye contact and Ianto could see that he was telling the truth.

'But why doesn't Gwen have it? She seems to be in charge at the moment.'

Owen didn't look at all offended that his 'second-in-command' status had been passed onto, not only a woman, but also someone who had been recruited much later then he had. 'We kinda share the burden; she does investigation-ily, compassionate shit and I take the action, bossing you around on missions etc. If you ask me, I got the better half, but don't tell her I said that. Plus, she has Rhys at home so it made more sense for me to have the alarm and it wouldn't make awkward questions.'

Ianto nodded, surprised at how well Owen and Gwen seemed to be coping with, not only the loss of their friend, but their leader as well.

The Hub was filled with nothing more then the sounds of typing and Owen taking the occasional gulp of coffee for another ten minutes before the cog door rolled open once more, this time admitting Gwen and Tosh who were giggling together like school girls, attempting to smother their laughter behind their hands as they entered the silence of the Hub.

'Care to share the joke, girls?' Owen said, looking at them with one eyebrow raised as if pointing out how immature they were being.

Gwen just looked scornfully at the medic, dumping her bag on her desk and firing up her computers, 'No thanks, Owen, you wouldn't get it anyway.'

Owen rolled his eyes, 'Excuse me, but I have a very well rounded sense of humour, and if you're insulting my intelligence, well… I got through med school didn't I?'

Gwen opened her mouth to spit out some sarcastic comment about 'not being so sure' and 'checking the records' but their bickering was interrupted by Ianto placing a steaming mug of coffee onto Gwen's desk.

'Aw, cheers Ianto, you're a star,' she said taking a sip, 'you have a nice day off?'

Ianto smiled slightly at Gwen's obvious attempt to not be too noisy, 'Yeah, it was fine thanks Gwen, it was nice to catch up on some sleep.'

Ianto turned to give Toshiko her cup of coffee and, after being thanked by Tosh, made his way back to his own desk, slipping his earphones in and turning his i-pod on as he sat down, concentrating solely on the computer screen in front of him.

The day passed relatively quietly, at least by Torchwood standards, with only a couple of major rift surges and even then, the things that came through seemed to be harmless. This was a relief after the past 3 months as the rift had become more and more volatile after Owen had opened it to bring Toshiko and Jack back from 1941. The team spent most of the day doing paper work and analysing and cataloguing alien artifacts that had come through the rift recently, interrupted only when Owen's growling stomach insisted that they order some lunch. They all decided on pizza, for a change (a meat feast, a margarita and a veggie), and ate in the newly-renovated board room, Owen watching Ianto like a hawk to make sure he ate. The next break didn't come until half past five when Gwen threw down her pen, claimed she'd had enough and started packing up her things.

'I'm going home, haven't had an evening in, in ages. See you all tomorrow!' She walked towards the door, waving goodbye to Tosh, Owen and Ianto (who had closed the Tourist Information today, choosing to work in the main Hub with the others today) who all called out 'see you's' and 'goodbye's.'

Tosh was the next one to leave, half an hour later after finishing analysing a mirrored box that had come through the rift last week and writing her report on it. Owen and Ianto looked up from their work to say 'goodnight' but after she left, they both put their head's down and carried on working until half six when Owen sat up, put his keyboard back on his desk from where it had been resting in his lap, collecting his things together and walked over to the desk where Ianto was sitting. He pulled out the earphones, which were still in the Welshman's ears, causing him to jump slightly.

'Come on tea-boy, drink-y time.'

Ianto looked at the medic incredulously.

'What, we've done enough work today, and I'm gagging for a pint, so I thought we could kill two birds with one stone so to speak, and have your next 'session' over some food and beer.'

Ianto rolled his eyes, 'If you are trying to ask me out Owen, just get on with it.'

'In your dreams tea-boy,' Owen replied out loud but inside he was relieved that Ianto was getting back his usual sarcastic manners, 'just get a move on.'

Ianto pulled out his other earphone, turned of his i-pod, put it into his bag and started shutting his computers down, shoving the rest of his stuff into his messenger bag before grabbing his coat from the back of his chair and swinging it around his shoulders. He glanced around at his workspace, making sure he had everything before going to join Owen by the cog door.

The two men walked out of the door in companionable silence, both recognizing that the other might not want to talk, but realizing that they both might have to, to get over their pasts'.

* * *

_I know, crappy ending, but I wanted to make it clear that Owen had things to hide as well. I hope that came through!! I think Owen and Ianto are really similar in that they have lost loved ones through Torchwood but they don't like to talk about it, but bottling their feelings up isn't helping and, eventually, one of them had to break down. I don't know how long it will be before I next update as I'm going away for three days without Internet access (I don't know how I'm going to cope!!)_

_How good is the new Doctor Who series?? I wasn't that keen on Donna after the Christmas special but I think she has improved since we last saw her, and I loved how she and the Doctor met again!! And Rose is back!! Woop!!_

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	5. Chapter 5

_Okay, I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update, but exams and life in general have got in the way, as well as some annoying plot bunnies that wouldn't let me write this until I had written them_

_This one is for shadowxwolf who refused to update her story until I had written a chapter for her - go and read her story 'We've Found Torchwood Four' and review it so she will update!!_

_This chapter was very difficult to write so I hope you enjoy it!!_

Ianto was surprised when Owen led him, not to some 'trendy' new club, but to a normal, family-friendly pub, with a log-fire an

Ianto was surprised when Owen led him, not to some 'trendy' new club, but to a, what could only be described as a, normal, family-friendly pub, with a log-fire and swings in the back (although when you would get to use swings in Cardiff where it seemed to rain all the time, Ianto would never know).

The two men were sat in the quite cosy backroom with pints and plates of meat pie and mushy pies in front of them. They hadn't said much after entering the Pub, Owen ordering for the both of them and then leading Ianto into the quiet of the backroom. The waitress brought their meals not long after that, breaking the comfortable silence, gave Owen a wink and left, leaving the two men by themselves.

'So…' Owen began, 'tell me about you and Jack.'

Ianto looked slightly perplexed and asked, 'Me and Jack? Why?'

'Because him leaving has obviously affected you and you said that he appeared in your nightmares, so… talking about how your relationship and how you feel may help. And I promise that whatever you tell me won't be spread around as the newest 'office gossip,' and I'm not going to go and report to Jack if, when, he gets back.'

Some of the tension left Ianto's neck and he slumped slightly in his seat, putting his knife and fork down even though he had eaten less then half of his meal. He opened his mouth but seemed clueless as to where to start.

'How did you two… well, I won't say get together, but… start whatever you had?'

Ianto smiled as though reliving some long forgotten memory, 'It was just after the whole Suzie incident – the second one – and well, it was a comfort thing at first I think, I was still getting over Lisa and he was struggling after killing Suzie again. But… I dunno, it just … kept happening. I mean, I knew that I was just… well, like you said, 'a part time shag,' but it didn't stop me having feelings towards him. That's what hurt the most, I think, because just before he left, I started to think that maybe, just maybe, we could have something more… but then he left and I realised that I was being stupid and Jack would never have actually committed to me and I shouldn't have let myself feel like that towards him in the first place.'

Ianto picked up his cutlery and started eating again, more to avoid Owen's eyes then to actually combat hunger. Owen looked pityingly at the younger man.

'Ianto, you can't help how you feel about someone, and no feelings are ever stupid!'

Ianto looked almost like a schoolboy being told off. 'But he's Jack Harkness!! He's never going to… well… love… someone like me. Just the tea boy. I should've know better then to think that he could feel that way towards me.'

'Ianto, we can't help who we fall in love with. Look at me and Diane!! Welcome to the club of lonely losers who can't have who they want!! But you have to live with it… you have to get up and move on. And you are not just the tea boy, especially now Jack's not here and you're on all the fieldwork with us. Look, I know that, if Jack were here, it'd be hard to get over him 'cos you'd be seeing him everyday. But, now that he's not here, take the opportunity to get over him, find yourself someone else or… something else. Just try to occupy your mind. It works, trust me.'

Ianto looked doubtful of this but he couldn't deny the honesty in Owen's voice.

Owen leant back in his chair, putting his knife and fork down on his empty plate, 'So, was it just sexual, this… thing you had with Jack?'

Ianto blushed slightly and kept his gaze firmly on the table, 'Well I guess… we would just… help each other out I guess. I think he would purposefully distract me from work because he kept saying I spent too much time there, and I would… well… like you said 'part-time shag.'

Owen rolled his eyes, 'Ianto, the way he looked at you, you could tell it was more then that. We could all see it in the way he looked at you.'

Ianto looked up and Owen could see the tears in his eyes, 'Yeah, but it wasn't enough to keep him here, was it? Whatever we had, it obviously wasn't as good as what he has with that 'Doctor' is it?' his voice had turned bitterer and bitterer as he had talked and he had become more and more breathless before he stopped talking, chest heaving, and he whipped furiously at the tears running down his cheeks.

Owen stared at the usually composed Welshman in front of him, amazed that he had never seen this side of Ianto. The younger man obviously felt things deeply but kept these feelings deep, how, Owen would never know. He had never been good at comforting people and the fact that it was somebody he knew and worked with, made things worse. He reached over the table and patted Ianto's arm uncomfortably and was rewarded by a shaky smile from the younger man.

The two men sat in silence for a few more minutes, before Ianto cleared his throat, 'Sorry, I didn't mean to…'

Owen waved his apology aside, 'It's fine, that's what I'm here for, isn't it?'

Ianto nodded, 'It's just, I'm so angry with him!! But sometimes… sometimes I just… it just all hits me at once. I wouldn't say I love him but I … almost love him I guess. And sometimes, I see something that'll remind me of him or something that he's said, and everything just hits me at once and I just get this empty feeling… like… well like I've got nothing to live for. I mean, my parents abandoned me, Lisa's dead and all I had left was work, clearing up after you lot – that was all I had to live for, but then Jack came along and well – it gave me something to look forward to. And now he's gone and all I've got left is the hope that he'll come back and that hope gets smaller and smaller everyday he's gone. And I hate him for doing this to me!! But then I remember that I… almost love him.'

Ianto paused again, wiping the tears from his face, and Owen made a decision, 'Right, this is what we're going to do – we're going to go back to mine, get absolutely trashed on the beer in my fridge, watch the new action-thriller I have on DVD and wallow in the sadness that is unrequited love until we get so pissed that we forget that said unrequited love. How does that sound?'

Ianto again looked doubtful at Owen's suggestion and looked as though he was about to refuse before noticing the determination in the Londoners eyes and realized that he wasn't going to win this argument. He nodded slowly and drained his pint. Owen grinned and stood up grabbed his coat, pulled it on and stood next to the table, waiting for Ianto to do the same. Owen couldn't help notice, however, that Ianto's plate was still half full but decided to let it go, in the interest of a relaxing evening.

* * *

Three hours later Ianto and Owen were sitting on Owen's sofa, clutching beers and leaning against each other with tears streaming down there faces, these ones of laughter at the film on the large screen in front of them.

* * *

Another hour later, they were in the same position, this time with the screen in front of them blank but still with tears falling.

'…and then she just… flew away…' the sadness of Owen's story was amplified by the alcohol consumed by the two men over the course of the evening and they both found that the room looked rather blurry through their tears.

* * *

'…and then he goes "how about naked hide-and-seek then" and I go, "no, because I'll know you'll cheat."' Even though Ianto's story wasn't particularly funny, him and Owen were almost rolling on the floor laughing, which was only made worse when Owen tried to get up off the coach to go to the kitchen for more beer, tripped over an empty beer bottle and ended up with his face buried in the living room carpet. Ianto didn't stop sniggering for another half an hour.

* * *

By 2am, both men were passed out in the living room, Owen on the floor, Ianto on the sofa. The alcohol in their systems successfully chasing away the dreams that usually haunted their sleep.

_Well, there we have it, hope you liked it and please review, it motivated me to write the next chapter quicker!! And remember to vist shadowxwolf's stories - they really are good!!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey, I'm really sorry for the long wait but to make up for it, this chapter is my longest one yet!! It's laso my first attempt at writing anything action-like so I hope its OK!!_

_Anyway, enjoy and please reveiw!! This one is for all the people have reviewed previous chapters or added me on their alerts or favourites; you guys rock!!_

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It was the ringing of a phone that woke him because he'd forgotten to set his alarm. He grabbed the ringing object and brought it groggily to his ear.

'Hello?' his voice was hoarse from a night of laughing, crying and alcohol.

'Owen?' it was Gwen, he could hear the buzz of the Hub's machinery – and what he thought was Myfanwy's screeches - in the background, 'Why are you answering Ianto's phone?'

Owen frowned, ignoring the pounding in his head, and pulled the phone away from his ear, looking at it cross-eyed. It was indeed Ianto's phone and not his own. He realised Gwen was still talking over the mobile.

'Owen? Owen? You still there?'

'Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Erm… me and Ianto… we… well we got pissed and…'

'Ah, say no more. So you coming in or not today?'

Owen glanced over at Ianto, lying on the coach, beginning to stir at the sound of the ringing phone and Owen's voice. 'Yeah, we'll be in later, nothing urgent happening is there?'

'No, no we were just getting worried 'cos Ianto's usually in by now, that's all.'

'Right, well we'll be in later, call if anything important's about to blow up.'

'Right, see you later.'

Owen pressed the end call button on Ianto's mobile and chucked it onto the carpet before burying his head back into the pile of cushions he had passed out on last night, attempting to block out the bright sunlight coming in through the windows and stop the dull pounding in his head. He heard Ianto stirring across the room from him as a combination of the noise of Owen's phone call and the sunlight brought him back to consciousness, a groan indicating that it had returned in full force. Owen turned his head to squint at the young Welshman and chuckled at how Ianto had screwed his face up in an attempt to avoid the morning.

'You alright there?'

'No' Ianto grumbled, his voice once again muffled by the pillows on the sofa.

Owen heaved himself onto his feet, heading towards the kitchen, 'Coffee and paracetamol are needed I think, but it'll have to be instant seeing as I'm lazy.'

Ianto just grunted in recognition and rolled over so his back was facing the windows.

5 minutes later, Owen walked back into the lounge, carrying two large mugs of coffee and a packet of extra-strong painkillers. He placed his own mug on the table and walked over to the coach, smothering a snort of laughter at Ianto's soft sores.

'Hey, tea-boy,' he shock the young mans shoulder, 'wakey-wakey time,' he said sarcastically. When Ianto just grunted and rolled over, Owen rolled his eyes, 'You better get up or I'll feed Myfanwy pizza again and you know what it does to her stomach…'

Ianto groaned and sat up, clutching his head, 'Alright, I'm up, don't give her pizza _please_.'

Owen just snorted and handed Ianto his coffee and two tablets from the bottle in his hand, 'Long time since you got pissed, huh?' Owen chose to ignore the grimace on Ianto's face as he took his first sip of coffee.

Ianto nodded in agreement, looking more awake as the caffeine hit his system, 'Well, not much time to be going down to the pub when I'm at the Hub pretty much 24/7, is there?'

Owen just smiled, drained the last of his coffee and got up from his perch on the edge of the coffee table, 'Right, well I'm gonna have a shower, you can have one after and then we'll go into the Hub and keep Gwen and Tosh from trying to decorate the place with ribbons or something…'

Ianto laughed, probably for the first time in a while, it had been a running joke in Torchwood 3 that, since they had to re-model the Hub after the 'Abaddon incident' that the girls had been trying to make the Hub more feminine where as Ianto and Owen preferred the more masculine, macho, metal look. In the end they'd compromised, keeping the main area of the Hub the same but making other areas of the Hub, such as the conference room and R&R room, more comfortable, although Owen had put his foot down at the red leather coach the girls picked out for the conference room.

* * *

By the time Owen and Ianto arrived at the Hub, it was past lunchtime so they brought pizza in with them. They were both feeling the effects of the alcohol they had consumed the night before, Owen perhaps less then Ianto, but they both could have been a lot worse as all Ianto felt was his stomach churning every time he moved, his headache almost completely gone thanks to the tablets Owen had given him. Both men were dressed in jeans and t-shirts, Ianto's borrowed from Owen along with the belt he needed to keep the trousers on his hips.

The remaining members of Torchwood, Cardiff, gathered in the conference room to enjoy their pizzas (veggies for Ianto and Tosh as they both refused to eat meat after their run in with the cannibals a nearly six months ago), the rest of the team watching Ianto, making sure he ate something, despite his churning stomach. Their lunch however was cut short by an alarm blaring from Toshiko's computer announcing a Weevil coming 'topside' a couple of streets away from the Hub.

'Tosh, stay here and track it, Gwen, take the SUV and follow me and Ianto so that we can get it back to the Hub. Ianto, lets go, running'll be quicker then driving and you need the field experience,' Owen ordered, switching from teasing Gwen over pizza, to ordering then around professionally in only a few seconds. Ianto grabbed his jacket and stun gun of his desk and followed to the pavement slab that would take them to ground level.

'Owen, 500 meters on your left and then first right and you should be right on top of it,' Toshiko informed Owen and Ianto through their blue tooth earpieces.

'Thanks Tosh.' The two men ran down the street, which, thankfully, wasn't too busy as it was only early afternoon and most people were at work or school. They dodged around a mother and a pushchair and into the narrow road Tosh had instructed them into. The Weevil was hiding in an alleyway branching off to the right and Ianto could see the dustbins and hear the rustling of someone – or something – going through them.

He and Owen approached the start of the alley carefully; stun guns and Weevil spray at the ready. Luckily the alley was a dead end, just somewhere for the take-out shop in front of it to store their rubbish, so they had the Weevil cornered. Owen gestured for Ianto to go to the left and they both started making their way down the alley, their footfalls alerting the Weevil of their presence for their first time. It lifted its head, removed its hands from the bin it had been digging in, and started backing its way down the alley, head and eyes constantly moving, looking for a way out.

Ianto and Owen kept walking down the alley, forcing the Weevil down it as well. The alien had given up looking for an escape route and both men knew that this was the point that it would start getting violent in panic, however, neither of them were close enough to administer either the spray or the stun gun and they knew that any sudden movements would have the Weevil panic even more.

In the end, the Weevil made the decision for them, launching itself at Owen, teeth heading for the Londoners neck. However, it was two slow as the alien found itself being rugby tackled into the bins by a Welshman in ill-fitting jeans and a black coat. The Weevil thrashed, trying to get free, and its claws caught Ianto's back, slicing through his coat, the borrowed t-shirt and several layers of Ianto's flesh as easily as a knife through soft butter. Ianto ignored the sting of pain in his back and pinned the Weevil to the ground with his knee in the small of its back, holding his hand out for Owen's stun gun as he had dropped his during the exchange.

Owen scrambled up off the floor, where he had dived when the Weevil lunged at him, and handed Ianto his stun gun, which Ianto proceeded to use on the flailing Weevil, immediately stopping its attempts to escape. Ianto stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans.

'You alright mate?' Owen asked, breathing slightly heavily.

'Yeah, fine,' he said, trying to twist his neck to have a look at the damage to his back.

'Here, let me,' Owen walked over to where the Weevil and his colleague were standing and examined the latter's back, moving the flaps of material to take a look, 'yeah, that's gonna need stitches, they're quite deep.'

Ianto groaned, 'Great. We better get this,' he gave the Weevil a kick, 'back to the Hub before it wakes up.'

Owen nodded, 'Yeah, but you're not carrying it with your back like that,' he touched his ear piece, 'Gwen, can you come and give us a hand carrying this to the car, Ianto's hurt his back.'

Gwens's voice came back immediately into both their ears, 'Yeah, no problem, I'll just get somewhere to park. Ianto, you OK?'

'I'm fine Gwen, just some scratches.'

Owen rolled his eyes at Ianto's under-exaggeration but let it drop, arguing would only slow them down and Ianto's t-shirt was already soaked in blood.

A few seconds later, Gwen appeared at the mouth of the alley and she and Owen carried the limp alien to the Torchwood SUV, Ianto following, holding two sets of Weevil spray and stun guns which he'd retrieved off the alley floor.

As Owen and Gwen were loading the Weevil into the car, Ianto went and sat in the passenger seat, realizing that he did feel a little light headed, and maybe Owen was right and the 'scratches' were deeper then they felt.

* * *

Owen pulled the SUV into the underground car-park Torchwood used which lead into the Hub, only with the right access codes though, of course.

'Me and Tosh'll manage the Weevil, Owen, you go and fix Ianto up,' Gwen instructed, climbing out of the car.

Owen nodded and went to help Ianto out of his seat, after making sure Gwen had a can of Weevil spray, making sure the Welshman didn't fall over, as he was quite light-headed due to blood loss. The two made their way to the thick metal door that lead into the Hub Ianto with his arm around Owen's shoulders to keep him upright. Owen punching the correct code into the finger-print sensitive pad and then led Ianto through the complicated tunnels that made up most of the Hub, until they found themselves in the main area of the Hub, making their way to the Autopsy Room, Ianto not saying anything as he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

Ianto managed to hoist himself up onto the autopsy table as Owen rummaged around finding the equipment he needed to stitch the gouges on Ianto's back.

'Right shirt and coat off,' he ordered and Ianto responded, if a bit sluggishly.

'Sorry 'bout the shirt, Owen,' he said.

'No problem, not like you could help it was it? And I didn't really like that shirt anyway,' by this point Ianto was sitting topless on the autopsy table, 'right this may sting, but I have to put it on to stop the cuts getting infected, OK?' Owen asked, pulling latex gloves in as he spoke.

Ianto just nodded in recognition, face screwed up in an attempt to combat the pain.

It only took a few moments for Owen to disinfect the wounds and then he was injecting an anaesthetic before he stitched them up, waiting a few moments for it to take effect. By this time the girls had returned from putting the Weevil in the cells and had come to check on Ianto.

'You alright sweetheart?' Gwen asked, wincing at the sight of Ianto's back and the sight of his ribs.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' Ianto replied as Owen pocked at his back.

'Can you feel that?' the doctor asked and, when Ianto replied with a shake of his head, started preparing the needle and thread to repair the tears in Ianto's skin. The girls, realizing they weren't going to get anything more out of their injured colleague, made their ways back to their desks, towards the ever-present mountain of paperwork. The Autopsy Room fell into silence, broken only by the usual hum of the Hub machinery and Owen whistling as he worked.

Growing bored of the silence, Owen decided to take advantage of the situation and conduct one of, what he had personally dubbed, 'Ianto's counselling sessions,' which would also keep Ianto awake as his body recovered from the blood loss.

'So, tell me about Lisa.'

Ianto blinked at the random question, trying to clear the numbness in his brain that had come over him as Owen worked, 'Lisa?'

'Yes, Lisa, you know, your ex-girlfriend?' the 'half-converted-cyberman' bit went unsaid, 'Where'd you meet? That kinda thing.'

'She was the first person I met at Torchwood One, she showed me 'round. I joined as a junior archivist; she was the assistant of the head archivist, I think I have a thing about sleeping with the boss… maybe I should get that checked…' Owen snorted at that, glad that the Welshman's dry sense of humour was making a reappearance. 'Anyway, we worked together for a few months and I had a crush on her, but I never did anything 'cos we worked together but then we had the Christmas party. There was alcohol, dancing, you know the story, we got drunk, there was dancing, colleagues yelling at us to get a room, next thing I know we're waking up at mine,' Ianto grinned reminiscently and Owen was surprised at how normal the whole story sounded, how that, despite they were both working for a top secret organisation, Lisa and Ianto had managed a typical, normal relationship.

'We started going on dates, you know, dinner, a movie, coffee, ordinary stuff. Then I realised I loved her. And I told her that. I didn't just love her, I loved who I was with her, I was more confident, I took risks, didn't care what other people thought of me because I knew she loved me and she was with me when she could have had any other man on our floor, or Jenny from reception, but that's besides the point,' Owen laughed out right at this and, finishing the stitches on Ianto's back, cut the thread and made the Welshman put his coat back on and lie down on the autopsy table.

'So, how close were you? Did you live together?'

'No, well, I'd just asked her to move in with me when the battle happened. Everyone who I'd loved in my life had abandoned me and I decided that I wasn't going to let Lisa abandon me as well. That's why I brought her to Cardiff. Purely selfish reasons.'

'It wasn't selfish, Ianto, you were jut in love.'

Ianto snorted, 'yeah, and look where love got us, here alone, addicted to work and coffee.'

Owen rolled his eyes, 'well at least the coffee's good,' he handed a bottle of pills to Ianto, 'These are painkillers, take them when you feel pain but no more then 2 every 4 hours, got it?' Ianto nodded and Owen continued as he walked around the bay, tidying up, 'Now, you're gonna be off field work until I take the stitches out which, if everything goes alright, should be in about 3 weeks.'

Ianto nodded and hopped down from the table, feeling stronger then he had been so he could at least walk on his own. He bent backwards, trying to stretch his back and feeling the sharp pain present there.

'Hey, watch it! I don't wanna have to re-stitch those before they're due out OK?' Ianto rolled his eyes and nodded, 'right, you can go home, take some of those painkillers and sleep OK?'

Ianto nodded again, 'I'm getting kinda stick of you ordering me to do that you realise?' but he was smiling all the same.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm the cruel doctor who really wants his patients to drop dead of exhaustion, I get it. I'll get Tosh to drive you home seeing as I bet you're sick of me and Gwen'll just talk your ear off,' Owen made his way out of the Autopsy Bay, heading towards Tosh's station. He stopped when he heard Ianto's voice.

'Hey, Owen?'

'Yeah?'

'Thanks.'

'No problem, we're a team, remember?'

'Yeah.'

* * *

_Right, well there we have it, Chapter 6. The next chapter shouldn't take as long as I know pretty much what's going to happean so fingers crossed!! But do please review as it motivates me to write faster although I may be writing a lot this weak just to take my mind of waiting for the next episode of Doctor Who!! I hate cliffhangers!! Especially of the Russel T Davis veriety!!_

_Thanks for reading!!_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: well, here we go, this the last chapter!! I want to thank everybody who has read, reviewed or even just glanced at this fic!! I hope this chpater is OK as it is a bit different from anything else I've writen!! enjoy!! NCxx_

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The next morning, Ianto arrived at Torchwood Three's headquarters at a more human hour then he had in previous weeks, 7 am, to be precise. He stood, straightening his suit jacket, waiting for the cog door to roll back, allowing him into The Hub. However, instead of the usual alarms and sirens, he was met by the sound of Elvis Presley singing at a ridiculously load volume over the PA system. Ianto rolled his eye and walked over to Owen's desk and turned the young Doctor's iPod, which was plugged into his computer, off.

'Oi!!' Owen's head popped up, almost comically, from the Autopsy Bay. Ianto just stood there, smirking at the Londoner.

'Never took you for an Elvis fan, Owen,' Owen coloured slightly and mumbled something, which Ianto didn't even bother to try and understand, before he started climbing the steps into the main area of The Hub, heading towards the cup of instant coffee on his desk.

Ianto rolled his eyes and headed towards the coffee machine, dumping his bag and coat on the coach in his way. Owen followed, carrying his empty mug and, after handing it to Ianto, perched himself on the edge of the table, watching his colleague closely.

'So, how's your back?'

'Twinges a bit when I move but the painkillers are pretty much taking care of it.'

Owen nodded, 'Great, just be careful you don't pull the stitches out, no heavy lifting or reaching or stuff like that, OK?'

Ianto nodded, perhaps a bit reluctantly and handed a full coffee cup to Owen, taking his own and perching on the table next to the doctor.

Owen glanced at Ianto out of the corner of his eye, noticing the young man looked less pale then he had been a few days ago and the circles under his eyes seemed smaller. 'How'd you sleep last night?'

Ianto took a sip of coffee before replying, 'Good, actually, the nightmares were still there but they weren't as bad, so I could get back to sleep afterwards, although the painkillers may have helped with that!'

Owen laughed, 'Yeah, probably, but they wouldn't have stopped the nightmares, so that's good!'

Ianto nodded and grinned, a real grin that reached his eyes, something Owen hadn't seen him do since Jack left.

The two men walked back to their desks and worked in silence until Toshiko walked in and hour or so later, smiling when she noticed her colleagues. Ianto looked up and smiled back at her, leaving his chair to go and get her a cup of coffee.

'Morning, Ianto,' she said to him when he brought her mug over, 'how are you today? Did you sleep OK?' she took a sip of her drink and hummed appreciatively.

'Yup, thanks Tosh, my back's still twinges but the painkillers help and they helped me sleep as well.'

'Good,' said Tosh, turning back to her computer which had just booted up. Ianto left her to it, going back to Suzie's – and now his when he wasn't in the Tourist Office– old desk to carry on with the seemingly endless amount of paperwork Torchwood Three had to complete, despite being 'outside the government.'

The three worked in relative silence, apart from Ianto humming 'Hound Dog' whenever Owen passed within hearing distance just to see the young medic scowl, until Gwen walked in at 9-30. Ianto got up to make them all another cup of coffee, answering Gwen's questions about his well being before, again, returning to his paperwork. However, the peace didn't last long as the Rift Alarm went of a few minutes later, alerting the team to something coming through the rift a few miles north of The Hub. Seeing as Ianto was banned from fieldwork, the other three left in the SUV, leaving him to direct them from The Hub. Owen drove, and whilst the two girls listened to him and Ianto bickering over the Comms, they looked at each other and smiled; this was what they were supposed to be, a team, laughing and joking together, supporting each other, helping each other through the rough times.

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Over the next three months, things changed subtly within Torchwood Three; Owen and Ianto became closer, going out together, drinking and general 'being male' as Gwen would say. Gwen and Toshiko made sure they were always there, not only for each other, but for Ianto and Owen as well if they ever need to talk. They learnt more about each other, (on one night in the Pub, Owen and Tosh had even confided the background behind their joining Torchwood, Owen explaining about Katie and Tosh about her criminal record, secrets that they had kept from as many people as possible) and began to trust each other more, something that was vital in the work they did.

Ianto had never believed the saying 'time heals,' and he still didn't, but he began to believe that the support of friends and family (which is what he now considered the rest of the Torchwood team) people could heal.

He couldn't deny that he still didn't miss Jack – they all did – but everything around The Hub didn't remind him of the immortal time traveller anymore. It came to the point were they could talk about Jack without there being uncomfortable silences between them, his name was dropped in conversations now and a lot of their time was spent wondering where their leader had gone to. The favourite theory was that he has found 'his Doctor' and this was supported by the CCTV footage Tosh had shown them all of Jack running out of The Hub with his rucksack and his 'hand-in-a-jar.' Other theories (mainly Owen's) were that Jack had taken part in some alien orgy and they had forgotten to untie him afterwards or that some girl that he had pissed off had kidnapped him and he was being kept as a sex-slave.

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It was six months after Jack left and the team had long since accepted that they couldn't make Jack come back, or trace him, and they just had to wait until their leader came back (if he did come back). During one particularly bad week, Ianto had suggesting employing someone else to take over the administrative duties seeing as, now he had his stitches removed, he was now a full time field agent. Gwen had looked like she was seriously considered it for a moment before Owen sarcastically reminded her what that advert would look like in the paper.

'General shit-tidier-upper wanted for top secret organisation which fights aliens here in the streets of Cardiff,' Owen had shouted up from the Autopsy Room.

Ianto had ignored the jab at his job and walked of, rolling his eyes, but he never brought up the topic again and neither did Gwen, partly because she refused to give up on Jack returning and partly because she couldn't be bothered to find someone who would be suitable for the job.

One night, the whole team returned from yet another Weevil hunt and settled down to pizza, beer for the boys and wine for the girls in the Conference Room. They sat there laughing and joking until their meal was interrupted by Tosh's PDA beeping urgently.

'Police report of a stolen vehicle and a 'blowfish-headed-man' was seen at the scene,' Toshiko reported, her eyebrows raised, 'car is heading east along Castle Street.'

Owen shoved the last of his pizza slice and took another swig from his beer bottle, 'Right, lets go, Tosh, tell the police we've got this and we'll return the car if we can.'

The team walked out, collecting their guns and comms from where they had left them on their desks and got into the SUV, heading towards where the stolen car was last seen.

They chased the blowfish driven sports car into a residential area, where it entered one of the houses and held a family hostage, shooting one of them and holding another at gunpoint. It fell to Ianto to control the alien, he even had his gun pointing right at it, but then it started talking and it was if it could see right into Ianto's mind, seeing all of his fears and throwing them back into his face. Ianto could feel his finger tightening on the trigger of his gun, but the things the blowfish were saying were getting to him. What if he did miss and hit the girl? That would be murder. But he didn't have long to think about it, all of a sudden, there was a gunshot and the alien's brains were splattered over the curtain behind it. Ianto spun around looking for who had shot the blowfish and his heart stopped when he saw the grinning face behind him.

Jack was back and the look of conflict on Ianto's face was enough to break Tosh and Gwen's hearts.

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_Dun, dun, dunnnn. Well, there we have it, Jack is back!! I know some of that was slightly cheesy so I do apologise for that!! Don't worry, I'm not going to leave it there!! The first chapter of the sequel **Now You're Back** should be written by the time I get back from holiday so hopefully I'll be posting it end of August time. It'll follow Jack and Ianto's reationship throughout Series 2 and I hope everyone who has followed this fic will read that as well!! See you then!! NCxx_


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